Chapter 7: There are no normal people, only people you don't know very well

Harry was discreetly looking out of Reggie's front window when he saw Hatter finally appear… and with Alice in tow. Her presence caught him by surprise, but he trusted Hatter would fill him in. His cousin had dismissed Harry's silent question at the shop if he was just going on a date with the woman, so whatever Hatter had planned with the Oyster, it must've gone wrong. The two adults made sure no one was watching them and quickly hurried across the connecting walkway. Harry opened the door for them slowly ahead of time, so the bell wouldn't ring, and quietly shut it once they'd entered. "You got my note then?" Harry asked right before Hatter caught him up in a hug.

"Wouldn't be here if we hadn't," Hatter countered as he pulled back from the hug with a relieved smile, and promptly knocked Harry's hat off his head. Harry made a noise of indignation at this as he quickly retrieved his hat. "And that's what you get for making me worry," Hatter quipped.

Harry just scoffed as he put his hat back on, "What'd you expect me to do with Mad March showing up at the shop? Calmly wait for you to rescue me? He's supposed to be dead after all. You're lucky as it is that you got a note from Bob, 'cause I sure wasn't thinking about writing one when I got the hell out of the shop." The fly made an excited whinny at the sound of his name and promptly flew off of Hatter's hat to Harry. He smiled and held out his hand for it to rock on, "I heard them making a right mess of my room when they couldn't find me. They must've broken the cage for my rocking horse flies, but Bob was the only one to fly up on the roof and look for me. I always knew he was the smart one."

"Wow," Alice commented as she watched Harry stroke the fly's tiny head and back, "It really is your pet." She'd been silently looking around Reggie's shop while the two were talking, but never ventured far from Hatter's side. Harry nodded and smiled at her before looking back at Hatter.

"Only saw March did you?" his cousin frowned as he probably just noticed Harry's ripped shirt.

He gave a dry chuckle, "Bit hard to miss him when he's got me by the collar." Seeing Hatter's eyes darken in anger he quickly changed the subject, "Not that I'm not pleased to see you again Alice, but I though you were being taken to the Resistance to get help for your boyfriend yeah?"

It was Hatter's turn to scoff now, and he answered before Alice got the chance, "Well that was the plan till we found out how important the ring she's got on her finger there is, and Dodo shot me to try and get at it."

"What?!" Harry exclaimed as his mind bypassed the comment about Alice's ring and jumped at Hatter's possibly serious injury. "Are you alright? You don't seem to be bleeding, but do you need my help?" Bob had flown up to sit in the valley made by the crease of his fedora while Harry tried to find Hatter's gunshot wound.

"Hey now, Little Potter," Hatter smiled and quickly stopped Harry's searching as he pulled his collar back to show where the bullet had almost hit him, "It'll leave a lovely bruise I imagine, but I'll be fine yeah?"

Harry felt immediately relieved when he saw this. Hatter had been hurt far worse from angry Tea Heads refusing to leave the shop. Slightly miffed that he'd made Harry worry, he punched Hatter's arm in retaliation and the man made a noise of protest at this. Alice smirked at Harry's actions, "Oh good. I'm not the only one to hit him when he frightens people with worry." Harry grinned at her. She was starting to grow on him.

"Now that we've all had a cheap shot at my person," Hatter commented, "We have to figure out where we can go hide out and think of a plan. I'm fairly sure the Suits didn't follow us here, but it's not like it's some sort of secret that we visit Reggie, yeah? And where is the old man come to think of it?"

"He's off making tea," Harry chuckled, "When I showed up suddenly, he convinced himself his watch must be two days late and immediately went off to get our normal tea time spread set up." A loud banging like the sound of a metal pot being dropped issued from the back room, followed by some high pitch mumblings.

"Brilliant!" Hatter clapped his hands and grinned, "I've been wanting a good cuppa since we escaped from Dodo," and promptly walked to the back room.

Alice huffed as she followed after Hatter, with Harry right behind her. "I thought you said we shouldn't stay here long?" she reminded him, "But apparently you think there's enough time for lunch, or tea, or whatever?"

"Time is an illusion, and lunch time is doubly so," Reggie's voice filled in as Alice and Harry entered the tea room. "Besides, who could ever live in a world where there was no time for tea? That's rabbit thinking if you go around always in a rush. Makes one terribly late."

Harry couldn't see her expression since he was stuck behind her, but Alice's voice of disbelief matched her body language of shock, "He…is that? ...Oh you've got to be kidding me." Hatter came to the rescue as he pulled the wide-eyed looking woman to sit in a chair next to him. Once he could see the man, Harry grinned as he quickly figured out the connection Alice had made, one that had taken him months to discover of course. Reggie was seated at the far end of the table wearing a deep green colored suit with his favorite style of overly large top hat in a matching color, and looked every bit like the Mad Hatter from the Alice in Wonderland book dressed like that. Intrigued to see what would happen now, he sat down across the table, two chairs away from Alice and Hatter.

"This is Reggie," Hatter filled in as he made himself and Alice a cup of tea. There was a twinkle in his eye as he was clearly enjoying her reaction and shared Harry's grin, "He makes all of mine and Harry's hats, and he's an excellent friend of ours. Just watch what you say to him, yeah?" The last bit he added quietly so Reggie wouldn't over hear.

"Your little hat never said anything about you bringing a wife as well Hatty," Reggie scolded the young man; which caused Hatter to choke on his sip of tea, "Must have missed the wedding with my watch being so late. I'll have to use better butter when I wind it next and a fresh knife. No doubt it's the crumbs that have gone mucking it up again." He stared at Alice's shocked expression before continuing, "Do you have a name my dear? You're awfully quiet, and its horrible manners not to speak up when you've been invited to tea you know."

Alice blinked a few times to process all of this and stared a bit wearily at the tea Hatter had given her before looking across the table at Reggie, "Well. I'm Alice, and-"

"You certainly are not!" Reggie objected as he slammed down his tea cup before examining her a bit closely, "Have her habit of showing up for Tea Time unannounced, most undoubtedly, but you look nothing like her." Harry smiled as he took the opportunity to enjoy the confusion and embarrassment that didn't involve him for once as he ate a scone.

She glanced at Hatter, unsure of how to respond to the outburst, while Reggie went to pour himself another cup; only to find the teapot empty. "Oh dash it all," he bemoaned, "That was the last of Tuesdays' batch, or would that Sunday's I suppose? Humph, now I'll need a new cup when I get back." The hat maker promptly went into a side room that held his kitchen, where loud whistling and metal clangs began to issue forth from once more.

Alice promptly turned to face Hatter, "This is your safe meeting place? I mean, even in the book from my world he's considered crazy!"

"Oh?" Hatter intoned curiously, "And who would that be?"

Alice glared at him, "You know perfectly well who I'm talking about, and that's who this, 'Reggie' person, really is!"

Hatter smiled as he finished his tea and stuffed a few scones into his pockets, "Calm down Alice, we won't be here long. Besides, Reggie's only a bit mad, and that makes him mostly harmless. Now, have a cup before it gets cold and ol' Reggie makes you move down a chair."

Alice raised an eyebrow at him; "You're joking right?" though it came out with a bit of caution as she only just now seemed to notice the many place settings. Hatter smiled mysteriously as his only response before addressing Harry.

"So, best I can figure," he started, "We go jump on my smuggling boat-"

"If it starts," Harry ridiculed.

"And make way for Tugley Woods," Hatter continued as he ignored Harry's comment, "Hide outside the city for the night and come up with a plan to get Alice back home."

"I know she's an Oyster," Harry rolled his eyes; "The Suits told me that when they barged in, so you don't have to hide it from me."

"And I'm not leaving until we rescue Jack," Alice objected after she downed her tea in one pained swallow, "I've already told you that several times now. I can meet with the Queen and make a deal somehow."

Hatter frowned at their comments and then checked his watch, "We can argue about all this later. We should get a move on."


Reggie was disheartened to see them all go so soon, but offered Hatter his congratulations on getting married once more (much to the two adults' embarrassment and Harry's continued amusement) and suggested Alice work on remembering her proper name. Not to mention that he would expect them all again at their next Tea Time. Alice tried to correct his misunderstandings, but Hatter just pulled her along out the door while he quietly informed her she'd be there all afternoon trying to get through to Reggie if they didn't leave now, and that was supposing that the Suits didn't find her first.

The trio made it no more than three blocks from Ambrose when several of the aforementioned Suits spotted them. Hatter was never more thankful then at that moment that Reggie's shop was several levels down and closer to the water ways than his own was. Taking the lead, Hatter told the other two to follow him as he ran the group down the fastest path he knew to his hidden dock. Alice was first behind him, and Harry took up the rear. From his few glances back, he could see that there was at least one Club in the group of Suits that was sprinting to catch up to them as well, which meant reinforcements could easily be called for. He took crumbled sidewalks down levels and grabbed Alice's hand automatically before approaching a three foot gap. Remembering her fear of heights, he looked behind him and caught Harry's eye. The lad nodded his understanding as he grabbed Alice's other hand and helped Hatter pull her into a jump over the gap before she could process it; causing her let out a small shriek in midair. Not having the luxury to let her recover, Hatter just plowed on as he expertly wove his way closer to the docks.

Once they reached his boat, he quickly jumped in and sat down at the controls. "Right. There's a trick to this," he hesitated before turning the key. The engine stalled at his attempt and he threw a glance over his shoulder. There was no sign of the Suits having rounded the corner yet, but this only increased his anxiety instead of soothing it since he knew it would only be a matter of when, and not if, they caught up. Alice had swiftly untied the boat from the dock and Harry gave the motor a few tugs on the engine cord before he tried once again. Thankfully this time the engine roared to life, and Hatter quickly brought the boat up to speed before having it go full throttle. Alice moved up to sit in the other front seat, and Harry took the seat behind him as Hatter breathed a sigh of relief once they exited the city.

He slowed the boat down a few knots so they could all hear each other as he drove. "Look," Alice yelled over the noise, "Forget the woods, let's just go straight to the Casino. I'll see the Queen and free Jack myself."

"You can't bargain with the Queen," Harry yelled from behind him and Alice frowned as another person disagreed with her. Hatter allowed himself to feel a bit smug at having someone else back him up on that point. "She's crazy Alice. Really. I mean, you may think Reggie's crazy, but the Queen's not like that. She's vicious."

Hatter could see she was about to stubbornly refuse to ignore Jack again, so he cut her off, "And I know it may not have started out this way today, but you won't be getting rid of Harry and I that easily. So, I say, we try negotiating with the White Rabbit. They're a whole different kettle of onions from the Queen. It's still a long shot, but it might be our only chance."

"Our chance?" Alice asked with a confused expression as she glanced between Harry and Hatter, "What do you mean by all that? I mean, I'm grateful for your help, but I get that this isn't your problem." Hatter sighed and gathered his thoughts before he answered her, and most likely Harry as well. Harry was the reason he was even contemplating this new plan now. Sure the boy was growing up fine, but to what future? What could Hatter really offer him as an option in this world? Working at his now ruined Tea Shop or helping Hatter make runs for the Resistance? No, his cousin deserved better than that and with each year, it was becoming clearer that no matter how much he wanted it to change, and no matter how hard he worked for it, Wonderland just kept getting worse. The Oyster World had to be better than here.

"I don't know if you noticed earlier Alice," Hatter finally began, "But my shop was torn apart. Harry and I have nothing but what's on our persons now, and as long as the Queen's in power, we're wanted men. Well, one and a half men." Harry kicked Hatter's chair back which made him smile briefly before he continued, "If Dodo sticks to his word, we'll be wanted by the Resistance as well, and there's only so many places we can hide from one of those groups, let alone both of them. Best as I can figure? We're better off going with you and trying our luck in your World."

He couldn't see Harry's reaction to this, but Alice had that weird look in her eyes again like she had back on the ledge this morning. As if he'd said something she hadn't expected and it was making her reevaluate her opinion about him. He could only hope it was in a good way. Before either of them could comment however, a loud buzzing noise was approaching them from behind and they all turned to see a Scarab was following them, and quickly gaining ground. "Bollocks," Hatter muttered faced forward again before pushing the throttle back on full, "We've got to shake this Royal Flush first no matter what we do."

The remaining five minutes or so it took to cross the lake to the woods was filled with nervous tension as Hatter pushed the boat to its limits. Looking over his shoulder occasionally showed the Scarab was falling slightly behind, but not enough to lose them. Knowing that he couldn't out run it, Hatter changed his plans and headed straight for the closest shore. The area he had originally been heading for led to one of the few sections that had only a small chance of encountering some of the stranger creatures that lived in Tugley Woods. Instead, Hatter would lead their pursuers straight into one of the most dangerous parts. A Jabberwocky nest. He would use himself as bait to lure one over while Harry and Alice hid safely up a tree, and he would lead it back to the Suits. Not one of his best plans, he admitted to himself, with the high chance of personal harm and all, but he was short on time it would have to do. As long as Harry and Alice were alright he could deal with anything else.


Hatter shut off the engine once he was close enough and let the boat coast to the shore. With her longer reach, Alice promptly grabbed a hold of a nearby tree branch to aid in guiding the boat to shore properly. The other two helped her as soon as they could, and together they made quick work of bringing the boat to a full stop. Harry hopped out first and grabbed a bit of vine off the nearest tree to secure the boat with, while the adults covered it with broken off tree branches. Hatter was able to do this rapidly, snapping several inches thick branches off as easily as if they were twigs using his right hand, and Alice stopped to wait for him to finish once she decided she was in the way.

Harry wouldn't let her stand around though and pulled her up the steep shore incline to wait for Hatter. "Come on. We can check and make sure nothing's around."

"What do you mean?" Alice huffed out as they climbed up. "Should I be watching out for lions and tigers and bears?" her question came out mockingly, but it didn't seem to bother the boy.

Harry shook his head as he stood at the top of the incline. "I've never been out to Tugley more than once, and this doesn't look anything like the place Hatter parked the boat last time. Says this wood is filled with more dangerous things then even I could possibly imagine." Alice bit her lip with worry at this, but helped Harry with being a lookout. They couldn't have been standing there for more than a minute before Hatter was heard making his was up the side as well.

"Well, that should take care of hiding the boat," Hatter stated once he reached them, "Can't imagine the scarab will take that long to find a landing spot and get here, so we better get a move on." A low, primeval roar echoed across the area once he finished speaking.

"What the hell was that?" Alice demanded with wide eyes as she looked to Harry and Hatter. The younger cousin shrugged while the older one just looked determined.

Hatter started walking forward on his own. "That, is the reason I stopped here. I'm sure Harry mentioned it to you, but there are things here that defy imagination, Alice." He looked back to notice his companions staring at him as they waited for an explanation. "Look," he sighed, "We've tried hiding, and we've tried running. The only way we're going to get rid of these suits is with a trap." Harry nodded at Hatter's logic and was the first to jog up next to him while instead, Alice slowly walked to join them. Nothing about this plan felt comforting to her.

There was no noise except the ones they made the further they moved from the shore, and it did nothing to stop the sense of unease Alice felt. That same roar they'd all heard earlier resonated in the air again, though it sounded much closer now. "So what's your plan then?" she asked as she came to a stop behind Hatter and Harry.

"Right," Hatter licked his lips, "You two should find a tree you can climb cause the trap's about to arrive."

"What about you?" Harry narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "Are you about to do something stupid again?"

Alice's eyes widened in realization, "You know what's making that noise don't you? And you're going to lead it back to the shore but… how will you escape it and, what is it exactly?" her voice becoming more determined as she spoke.

Hatter let out a nervous chuckle, "Oh, it's just a Jabberwocky; I'll be fine-"

"You're mad!" Harry protested, "I don't know much about what lives here, but I know what a Jabberwocky is and you can't out run that thing! It's huge!"

The thudding footsteps approaching the trio's location put a swift end to the building argument however, as the aforementioned creature appeared before them. It stood approximately two stories tall and had an oddly shaped rabbit like head without ears on top of a long serpent like neck that attached to a dinosaur shaped body. Unlike a Tyrannosaur however, its front arms were long and could easily be used for things like climbing and grabbing. Once it noticed the intruders in its woods, it let out a longer, more threatening yell that vibrated down to Alice's bones.

"Run!" Hatter shouted as he took off back towards the shore while Harry and Alice ran deeper into the woods. Hatter hadn't gone more then a few yards when he noticed the Jabberwocky wasn't following him, and neither were Harry or Alice. "Oh not that way you two, damn it all!" Hatter yelled before chasing after the Jabberwocky.

Meanwhile Alice and Harry we're running almost neck and neck, occasionally jumping over fallen trees and undergrowth, as they tried in vain to out run the beast. Harry risked a glance back and immediately wished he hadn't as he now knew for sure the creature was less than thirty feet behind them, and Hatter wasn't with them. The inevitable happened though as Alice tripped on a hidden tree root and tumbled forward before she hit a large rock that was blocking her path; causing her to groan in pain at the impact. Hearing her tumble and wheeze of pain, Harry skidded to a halt and doubled back to help her up. The Jabberwock was too close however, and as it bent down to bite her, it was suddenly drawn up short as its body had gotten caught between two narrowly spaced trees that Alice had apparently run through. It let out another bone trembling roar of annoyance as it tired to reach her while Alice just laid there, paralyzed with fear. Doing the first thing that came to mind, Harry trust his hands forward and called forth his magic as he yelled, "Water!"

The amount that Harry normally created this way was similar to a garden hose, turned on to full power. With his adrenalin helping to power his magic as well this time, he produced something more akin to hot water geyser at full blast. The impact greatly shocked the creature, knocking the head backwards, and it roared loudly in displeasure as it was unable to see its prey. Harry was incapable of keeping up the jet for long, but thankfully Hatter suddenly skidded to a halt near him shortly before it cut off. The Jabberwocky swiftly moved its head back into an attacking position. Hatter was ready for it though and attacked it from the side with a punch from his right hand. A crack was heard as he connected with the creature's jaw and it immediately reared back and shook its head about in a daze.

"Come on!" Hatter commanded and Harry turned to help Alice up with him, and the three immediately went running off deeper into the woods. They were only able to run for a few minutes before they felt the ground slip away from below them as they all tumbled into a hole. Various grunts and gasps issued from each person as they collided with the bottom from their over ten foot fall.

"Ow," Harry coughed as he tried to sit up, before deciding he might like to lay back and rest a bit first.

"You two alright?" Hatter asked as he propped himself up somewhat to look at the other two. Harry just nodded as he caught his breath and gave a thumbs up, while Alice was starting to sit up slightly and had gone wide eyed as she noticed the large sharpened wooden poles sticking out from the ground that they all had luckily missed. Before she could answer however, the now familiar footsteps of the Jabberwocky began heading towards them again. Hatter unnecessarily shushed the other two as they all held still. The creature lowered its snake like neck into the hole and sniffed around for them. It roared once before trying to lunge for Harry and impaling its lower jaw with one of the wooden spears; causing it to bellow with pain. Giving up on his prey, the Jabberwocky wrenched his mouth free and gave them one last parting roar before withdrawing and lumbering off.

Harry let out the breath he'd been holding before standing and dusting himself off. "Well," he exhaled, "Now I can officially cross off get chased by a giant creature from my 'things I never wanted to do before I die' list." He passed Hatter his misplaced hat as the man chuckled weakly at Harry's attempt at humor.

"Yeah," Alice commented as she sat up. "A brilliant plan as well by the way. Who knew running for your life twice in one day could be so much fun," she sarcastically added.

"Hey now," Hatter interjected, "It could've worked, and besides, look at it this way. With all the Jabberwocky tracks mixed in with ours they'll probably think we're as good as dead."

Alice raised her eyebrow at him. "We almost were dead, actually, or at least I was."

Hatter scoffed and waved his hand dismissively, "Details, details."

Scuffling could be heard from up above, and the trio tensed for another attack. "Vermin!" an elderly man's voice rang out from beyond their vision, causing all of them to look about puzzled. A man suddenly appeared at the top of the hole. "Saboteurs! Anarchists!" he yelled as he shook his fist at them, making the faded white armor and chain mail he wore to rattle against each other. All three held similar looks of shock at the enraged elderly gentleman that continued to blame them for something. "I was this close to catching him you know!" he armored man held his hands a tiny space apart before frowning and grudgingly adding another few inches. "This close. You degenerate bag heads!" He glared and tightened his fists at his sides, "Bug bashers" he growled out menacingly.

"Who the hell are you?" Alice shot angrily back at him as she stood and winced slightly before adjusting her weight.

"Yeah," Hatter chimed in, "And what the bloody hell are you so angry about?! We're the ones who fell in the hole, yeah?"

The elderly man seemed to regain his composure as he straightened himself up before announcing, "I. Am a Knight. The White Knight actually" He looked very pleased with himself and smiled as he spoke, "Sir Charles Eustace Fotheringale Malvois, the third," he then glared back down into the hole, "And who, might you be…"

The sudden declaration immediately caught the trio off guard for varying reasons. Harry and Hatter exchanged curious looks before looking back up, while Alice was the first to respond. "I'm Alice," she informed him, "and these two-"

"THE Alice?" the White Knight interrupted as he peered anxiously down at them, "The Alice….of Legend?" His voice held a hopeful and awed quality at the last bit as he crouched down to get a better look at her.

"No," Alice glanced back at Hatter who just smiled at her before she looked back at the Knight. "I'm Alice. Just. Alice. These two are my friends. Hatter and his cousin, Harry."

The younger boy smiled up charmingly at the White Knight. "Think you could help us get out of this hole, sir Knight?"

"Oh!" the Knight exclaimed, "Oh yes, indeed! One moment young squire." Harry grinned at Hatter as he kicked up his fallen hat off the ground with enough force that it flipped onto his head, before making sure his bag was secure. A rope ladder tumbled down next to his head a few seconds later, and Harry quickly climbed up.

Alice limped her way over towards it and Hatter frowned. "You alright there, Alice? Let me help you get out, yeah?" Alice protested that she was fine but Hatter just ignored her as he grabbed her around the waist and helped to support her as she walked.

Her brow furrowed as she contemplated the rope ladder, "I think I've sprained my ankle so I'm not sure how this will work."

"I've got an idea," Hatter grinned as he snapped his fingers. He stood in front of Alice, then hunched over slightly. "You hang on to me, like a mock turtle hitching' a lift," he informed her, "and I'll climb us out."

"You want me to ride piggy back?" Alice tried to clarify.

Hatter just shrugged, "Sure, if that's what you want to call it. Now hop on, yeah?" She sighed but promptly wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Suddenly very glad that no one was below her the get an impromptu peep show. Hatter kept up a steady pace as he ascended up until he got to the top, where he stopped to let Harry and the Knight pull Alice up off of him.

"Alice of Legend!" the Knight gasped as Alice limped over to the nearby tree, "You have been wounded! I must attend to you."

"It's just, Alice," she insisted once more before deciding that sitting was a better plan of action, and slowly eased herself to the tree's base.

The knight looked confused. "Just, Alice. Hmm."

Harry knelt down in front of Alice and took hold of her foot. "Don't worry about it sir Knight. I'll take care of Alice's foot." He tilted it a few times and Alice hissed in pain when he turned it to the left.

"You got a bandage or something in your pack for me, Harry?" Alice asked as he took off her boot.

Harry just shook his head and gave her a brief smile, "No, something better." He let out a calming breath before string intently at her ankle. Alice felt like tiny pin pricks were working their way into her ankle where Harry's hand touched it until they completely engulfed it. They all collided into a warm soothing feeling and almost as quickly as it had started, it suddenly stopped. Harry let go of her ankle and grinned at her. "Well, how does it feel?" With a look of wonder, she fully rotated and tilted her ankle without a hint of pain.

"What did you do?" she stared up at Harry.

"I used some of my magic to heal you," he stood and handed her back her boot; which she quickly put on. "I'm pretty good with sprains and the like, but I don't get much of a chance to try fixing anything really serious."

Alice stood up and took a few steps to test her ankle some more. "You know, after everything I've seen today I feel like this shouldn't surprise me as much as it does." She paused and spun back around to face Harry as something occurred to her. "You hit the Jabberwocky in the face with all that water too, didn't you?" Harry nodded and she continued, "What with narrowly avoiding death twice right after I didn't have time to process it, but that was amazing. Thank you." He blushed at her compliment and glanced at her and then Hatter who was smiling back.

"Very impressive young squire," the Knight stated as he returned from securing the ladder back to one of his horses. "I dabble in the Black Arts myself you know." He looked quite proud of this statement and Harry grinned excitedly at him.

"Really?" he walked towards the man, "Can you show me? I've got a book that's helped me learn loads of things, but that would be brilliant if you could."

Hatter put a restraining hand on Harry's shoulder. "Not that we're not grateful for the rescue but, I thought all the knights were wiped out years ago?

The Knight scoffed at this. "Well, you thought wrong then. I'm as fit, as a butcher's dog!" He emphasized his point by banging on his chest plate; causing him to cough slightly.

"Are there any more of you then?" Harry asked eagerly.

The Knight chuckled, "Certainly not young squire. I am a one of. My Nan used to say that if I were the only eligible bachelor left in the world, then there wasn't a warthog or wallflower who'd polish my escutcheon." The Knight laughed at his little joke as he finished gathering his items from around the hole.

Alice tried asking from another angle though, "What about those like you, your…comrades in arms?"

"Certainly not," the White Knight dismissed as he secured a shovel to his horse, "Are you mad? We were all wiped out years ago." Alice shared a glance and a smile with Harry but didn't comment further when the boy shook his head.

Hatter took in the Knights actions and finally deduced why he was so upset at them earlier. "You dug this hole by yourself, and at your age?"

The Knight took this as a personal insult however and rounded on Hatter. "I may be over 150 years old, but I'll have you know youth is vastly over rated." He shook his finger in Hatter's face and the man slowly walked backwards towards Alice while the Knight ranted on. "I have a spry and intelligent mind! I've invented all sorts of things over the years! This hole, as you so inappropriately called it, is the Gravity Assisted Snare Mark four." He humphed flippantly at Hatter before walking off back towards his horses.

"He is madder than box of frogs," Hatter proclaimed as he turned to look at Alice who seemed torn between amusement and confusion.

"I like him," Harry grinned, walking over to join the adults.

Hatter rolled his eyes. "You would, wouldn't you? I wonder how in the bloody hell he's survived all this time." Harry opened his mouth to chime in, but Hatter cut him off, "And if you say its cause he's a knight, then I'll steal your only hat for my own personal use now."

Harry rolled his eyes at Hatter's threat, and Alice's lips twitched upwards in a brief smile. Meanwhile the Knight seemed to have wandered back towards their group with a wide smile; his anger moments before having completely vanished. "You know… I only invent on a strictly part time basis. It's the, Black Arts that I specialize in. Soothsaying. Toenail Readings… Perhaps I could read your palm, Just Alice?" he'd already grabbed her hand, despite her verbal protests, and quickly froze when he noticed the ring on her finger.

"Where did you find it?" he whispered reverently as Alice jerked her hand back.

Hatter moved in front of her in case the old knight pulled a Dodo move. "The ring stays on the lady's finger granddad, yeah?"

"But," he said, "It's the Stone of Wonderland. Our Stone." The Knight fell to his knees as if in prayer in front of Alice. "This was meant to be" he proclaimed, "This time. This meeting in the woods!" The three travelers shared skeptical glances, and Hatter pulled Alice a few steps back from the old knight.

"O...kay," Hatter stated, "I think we should all be getting a move on then. Don't want to be caught standing about in case those Suits are still chasing us."

Alice stepped out of his grip suddenly. "Wait, maybe he can help us with that."

Hatter gave her a look of disbelief and glanced at the old man, who was still kneeling on the ground and mumbling to himself, while Harry waved his hand in front of the man's face to try and get his attention. He then looked back at her, "Come again?"

"Well," she faltered slightly, "He's avoided detection for this long. Maybe he could take us back to his base or camp or whatever. He's obviously a survivor."

"I think it's a good idea" Harry added as he joined them. "It's not like he's on the Queen's side, being a Knight and all, and it'll be more comfortable then trying to make a camp ourselves, yeah?"

Hatter looked skeptically between the two of them, "What is this? Gang up on Hatter Day? First at Ambrose, and now here?"

Harry just shrugged before smirking at the two adults, "It's not my fault your new wife has better ideas then you, now is it?" Alice went from looking smug at Harry siding with her, to flustered from Harry's reminder of Reggie's comment. Hatter wasn't looking much better.

Charlie the White Knight chose to snap out of his trance at that moment as he abruptly stood up. "Just Alice," he proclaimed as he walked towards them, "I would be honored to escort you, the young squire, and…" he glanced despairingly at Hatter, "your vassal; to my sacred Kingdom. Come young squire, you will help me to adjust the horses' saddles."

Harry let out a thrill of excitement and quickly leapt off to assist the elderly Knight. Alice smiled triumphantly and looked over to see Hatter's shocked expression. "The lad sweet charms the old codger to get us out of the hole and yet, I'm the vassal? Where's the justice in that?"

Alice's grinned widened as she walked off, "Guess he just calls them like he sees them." She paused and looked contemplatively at Hatter with a smile still on her face, "Or maybe he's just decided to join in on 'Pick on Hatter Day'." Alice chuckled as she continued on; leaving a gaping Hatter watching her walk off as he finally saw a side of her she'd yet to really show him.


Posted March 5, 2010
Edited June 7, 2014